


When Spring Comes Around

by lronspiderr



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst and Humor, Anxiety, Artificial Intelligence, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Domestic Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Gen, Light Angst, Not Beta Read, Precious Peter Parker, References to Depression, Sickfic, Tired Peter Parker, Worried Tony Stark, our lovely AI girls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-29 17:44:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20086210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lronspiderr/pseuds/lronspiderr
Summary: It wasn't exhaustion from overexerting himself or tiredness from a long day- he just found himself so sleepy."You don't have many contacts in your phone, Peter."Something's wrong with Peter so Karen contacts Tony Stark for help.





	When Spring Comes Around

Peter had never felt like this before. It wasn't exhaustion from overexerting himself or tiredness from a long day- he just found himself so sleepy. It was hard to keep his eyes open, but he felt a little loopy and his brain was too active for him to actually sleep. He was in a loop of wanting to keep his eyes open but wanting to sleep.

It had started two days ago while out on patrol. He hadn't done anything physical and he had been sleeping well. Peter hadn't known what to do except crawl in bed and sleep whenever he felt that way.

This time he wasn't able to, as he was currently behind a dumpster in an alleyway. His eyelids had grown heavy mid-swing and he had sort of slumped down the wall. Having the heater in his suit activated had only added to it, as it was the start of winter and swinging around in the winter wind was awful without it.

His eyelids fluttered open, and his limbs moved slowly to curl up into an even tighter ball. He leaned against the wall and mumbled something incoherent before trying again. "Kar'n? How long h've I been here?"

"It's been around an hour, Peter." Her tone almost came off as concerned. "Your vitals are fine but I suggest you get home and rest."

He tried to get up on his feet but wobbled and slid back down. "...Can't." He was way too sleepy to be able to move, at this point.

A horn honked from the adjacent street, but it wasn't enough to startle him from this haze. After Peter had sunk back into being unresponsive, Karen went through his contacts list.

May wasn't to be called unless it was an emergency, and she was still working weekends. Happy had been forced to go on vacation and was out of state for a week. Ned was available but couldn't drive and wouldn't be effective in getting Peter home.

That left MJ, an unsaved number that Karen had learned was Flash, a deli worker, and Tony Stark.

The deli worker was a clear no. Flash was vetoed soon after, as he didn't know Peter's alter ego. Karen knew that MJ was trustworthy, but Peter had a thing about her getting involved in his problems, and according to his texts she had been dealing with family issues.

Tony Stark was left. He was hours away, was busy with finding an anniversary gift, and -when Karen contacted and asked Friday- didn't want to be disturbed.

"You don't have many contacts in your phone, Peter."

Peter managed to make a sound in response, which conveyed clearly "Who's side are you on? I'm perfectly aware."

Karen contacted Tony silently, opting to let Peter rest and become worried later when Tony was already there to help. It took some convincing, and the AI might have exaggerated Peter's condition a little, but Tony was soon in his suit flying over there.

Tony was less than happy to learn that Peter was a mere 5-blocks distance away from his apartment, but he put that argument aside when he saw the kid curled up beside the dumpster with snow gathering on his suit.

Peter opened his eyes halfway at the noise of Tony's suit as it landed, and frowned at the white specs in the air. He hadn't remembered it ever snowing.

He was about to close his eyes when he caught bright red in front of him. He tilt his head up, and as his eyes closed of their own accord his vision altered and he saw three Iron Men standing in front of him.

"Just a dream," he conveyed with a sigh. That was quickly proved wrong when someone lifted him up with ease and plopped him over their (very uncomfortable) shoulder like a mere sack of potatoes. Maybe Tony wasn't over the whole 5-block distance thing after all.

"Friday," Tony called as he flew up and managed to fly with three repulsors instead of four, keeping a steady hand on Peter's back. "What's his vitals?"

"Karen informed me-"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "You two talk more often than I thought."

Friday almost sounded shy. "I suppose we do? Well, I can scan Peter again but his vitals are good. He's simply stuck between being awake and being asleep, which explains his unresponsiveness and inability to move."

Tony honestly had no idea what being in-between those meant, but he left it alone for the moment. He landed on the fire escape to Peter and May's apartment, and with a little effort pulled the stubborn window to the living room open.

The window was small and a table with objects littered upon it sat directly under it.

"Uh, watch your head, kid." He tossed Peter through, then followed. It wasn't his proudest moment. After he straightened, he stepped out of his suit and eased Peter up onto the couch. The kid merely peeked an eye open to see his new location, and closed it again. "Hey now, wake up." He nudged him with his knee. The eyes on the spider-mask remained closed.

Tony looked around the apartment. They had moved recently, so he hadn't visited this one before. Tony liked it more than the last one.

He would ask an AI for help but his Edith glasses had been left behind in the workshop somewhere, so he walked around the home and came up with a plan by himself. Banging two pots together always worked, he figured.

As he returned with them in hand, Peter had opened his eyes again. It ruined the fun but Tony was glad. "Don't fall back asleep or I will call Aunt May."

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. Karen had turned the heater in his suit off, and with that comfort gone he had woken up slightly. "...St'r?" He looked down at the pans in Tony's hands, and with effort reached up and pulled his mask up to his forehead. "Why th' pans?"

Tony hesitated. "Uh, want an omelette?"

He wasn't sure why he went through with it, but he did. The offer of food seemed to have woken Peter up more, which was good. Tony made himself one too since he was already there. After setting it down in front of him, Peter pushed himself into a sitting position and grabbed the fork.

Tony had assumed bad things immediately when Peter's AI told him about the situation. It seemed better now but he wasn't going to leave without learning why Peter had been in an alleyway during winter for over an hour. "Care to explain why you're like this? If you're overworking yourself for school, don't think I won't make you take a week off. You don't have a part time job, right?"

Peter leaned against the couch without taking a bite. He shook his head and closed his eyes. "No job...no school. I- College isn't...y'know."

Well, Tony hadn't been aware of that. He made a note to talk to Peter and May about it later, when he was fully awake and they weren't busy.

"Are you staying up late every night?"

Peter gave a half-hearted shrug. "Sometimes." He opened his eyes and looked over at him. "It happened two days ago. 'm sorry, don't know why."

Neither knew what to do. Tony wasn't going to waste his omelette though so he ate it. It was after he set his plate and fork in the dishwasher that he figured maybe Peter should just sleep. It seemed easy enough for the kid to now that he was in his apartment versus a side alley.

Tony nudged him with his shoe. "Alright, kiddo, let's set you down for a nap." He helped him up, basically pulling his weight up from the couch, and pulled him to his room. He let Peter flop down onto his bed, and adjusted his legs so they weren't hanging off the side. "It's bad to sleep in the suit but I'll let it slide," Tony said mostly to himself.

Peter was out immediately. He laid absolutely still against his pillow, and the only thing that told Tony he hadn't suffocated was the kid's soft, steady snoring.

The good thing was that Tony could shop for an anniversary gift online, so he sat in the living room and scrolled through stores on his phone. He knew that a giant bunny, alpacas, and strawberries were a big no-no, but besides those things he was clueless as to what else Pepper wouldn't like. And he knew better than to directly ask her.

Peter woke up on his own about twenty minutes later, and stumbled out into the living room. He rubbed his eyes, felt the rough fabric of his suit over his hands and looked down at it in confusion. He never slept in his suit. "Uh, Mr. Stark?"

"Hmm?" He replied casually. "That was quick, Pete."

Peter tilted his head back and sighed. "It happened again," he realized.

Tony tucked his phone in his suit jacket pocket, and turned to look at him. "Right, about that-"

Peter walked over and joined him on the couch. "I don't know why it happens. But if I'm in my room then I can sleep it away."

"But you weren't. An alleyway by a dumpster, seriously?" Tony sent him a disapproving look. "How long do you think you'd be there if I hadn't flown out here?"

"...Sorry." Peter drew his knees up and hugged them to his chest. He was biting his lip and glancing at different things in the room, like the abandoned omelette, a picture of May, and the clock on the table. "I promise I'm getting my sleep," he said while avoiding eye contact. "I've been careful with this too," he said and gestured to one of the webshooters. "May's got a schedule worked out for me when it comes to patrolling," he admitted.

"It has to be from something. What happened two days ago?" Tony knew that being that tired didn't come suddenly and without reason.

Peter shrugged. "Nothing happened." He thought for a moment, then tapped the spider on his suit so the suit loosened. He had tucked his phone in his suit at his hip, as Tony refused to make a suit with pockets. He took it out, "Karen's connected to this. Maybe she'll know?"

It was smart and wouldn't hurt anybody to check, Tony knew. He made a note to finally give the kid some damn pockets. A Christmas gift, maybe, with Karen's software upgraded and a new web type or two. He couldn't remember if he had given the suit an electric web formula already or not.

Peter held the phone between them and pushed a button.

"Yes, Peter?"

"Hi Karen, uh, can you help us with something?" Peter fidgeted. He disliked phone calls and how awkward they were, even with an AI designed for his awkwardness.

"I see you've gotten some sleep," Karen commented fondly. "While you were away I did some research about your lack of energy. Would you two like to see what I found?"

"Oh, that's perfect actually, yeah."

The little projector on the back of Peter's phone lit up and he adjusted it so the images could be seen on the living room wall. There was a lot to take in. A few documents, some CAT scans, several online articles, and different calendars of Peter's behavior and average energy he spent each day the past month.

Tony leaned forward to read the articles of some scientists blabbing on about brain behavior. The calendars indicated that Peter got plenty of sleep and rarely overworked himself, as Peter had said. The rest was hard to piece together. "If it's not his sleep patterns or spidey stuff, what is it?"

"I believe one reason is Peter's stress."

"I'm not stressed-"

"Or more accurately, his stress and anxiety is preventing him from being able to fall asleep as quickly as he used to. For Peter, the problem is getting his mind to quiet down so he can rest and enter REM sleep. Peter also suffers from seasonal depression, and a big symptom of that is being tired almost every day for a large portion of the day."

Peter could feel Tony looking at him, and sent a look of betrayal to his phone. This would only make Tony mad at him, and that certainly wasn't why he had asked for Karen's help. Plus, he was a little upset that she had called Tony over even though he was out of the cold now.

Karen continued, "He's tired or 'sleepy' from anxiety and depression but his mind fights with him because even when he's tired it's too active for him to fall asleep with ease." The projector turned off when the images weren't needed anymore.

"I did sleep the other two times, though," Peter recalled. "Is that because-"

"Because you were here in a familiar environment. There was nothing to cause alarm, and there's been no distractions here."

So Tony was there simply to waste his time on something he couldn't fix, Peter thought. It was seasonal depression, something they couldn't do anything about.

He was unsure of how much anxiety Karen thought he had, because besides the occasional knot in his gut when being face-to-face with the barrel of a gun, he didn't think he had it chronically. Peter liked to think he didn't let things like that follow him home, but maybe his hope in that was misguided.

Peter shifted in his seat, "Uh, so I'll be fine when it becomes spring?"

"It's very likely," Karen responded, "but seasonal depression is a bit different for everyone, Peter. I believe it's best that you stay home during this time so you don't get stranded again."

Oh no, that sounded like something Tony would approve of. "Wait, no, I have to be out there! I'll be more careful-" He hit the button to disconnect Karen, then looked over and met Tony's gaze. "I'll be more careful," he assured him.

Tony let out a sigh. The kid was nineteen and should really be making his own decisions now, even if they were still stupid ones, but Tony had never been one to leave Peter alone. Plus, Tony had seasonal depression too but with Peter it was more severe than most people's cases which was worrying.

"Don't tell May."

Tony turned towards him and looked at him sternly. "No, you can't do that anymore. You're an adult now, that's invalid."

"Like three months ago you called me a child!" Peter countered.

Tony remembered that, and decided to just gloss over it. "She knows about the spidey gig now, and you trust her with it. The least you can do is trust her with this."

"I- She worries when I worry, and she always takes it to the extreme. If she knew about this she'd make me stay home for a month at least."

"That's not a bad idea-"

Peter groaned and leaned back against the couch. "You know I can't- I shouldn't."

'With great power', Tony recalled. He stood up and busied himself with throwing the omelette away. "You can't keep doing this," he warned from the kitchen. "The second that you feel tired, you go home. I don't care if you are helping an old woman cross the street, you head straight here, got it?"

Peter raised an eyebrow. "There's a lot less old people crossing streets than you think, Mr. Stark."

Tony sounded exasperated when he muttered, "That wasn't the point." He walked back into the living room and stayed standing. "If you don't want me nagging you about anxiety, promise me you-"

"I promise!"

Ouch, that had been a little too quick in Tony's opinion. Still, the kid seemed sincere about it. He nodded and headed towards his waiting suit. "Friday is going to check in with Karen so you better keep your word."

"Wait, they talk to each other?"

Tony threw his hands up, shrugged, and backed into the suit. It closed around him and the faceplate fell down. "See you around." He turned and went out to the fire escape, then boosted the repulsors and flew off.

Peter watched the suit fly up, then got up to close the window. "Iron Man climbing out of my living room window," he mumbled, amused. After shutting the window he went to his room to change out of his suit, and promptly collapsed onto his bed. It took three minutes before he was snoring.

Friday told Karen to activate a protocol on Tony's behalf: no matter what Peter did, he couldn't get his phone, computer, or the TV to work past nine p.m.. The next day a book of tips on anxiety arrived, addressed for him, and May claimed she had no idea where it came from. Her lack of concern that a book about anxiety came for him was suspicious.

Peter took about an hour to fix the TV, mainly because May stayed up way past nine to watch her shows. However, he read the book completely through, and it helped.

The constant sleepiness lasted about two more weeks but finally died down. He hadn't noticed until then how more energetic he was and how it had affected patrolling.

During the two weeks, he had been careful not to have the heater in his suit too high, and sometimes he had Karen play music. Throwing more energy into even mundane things had helped a little as well.

Karen had indeed informed Tony of his progress. It had been irritating at first, but she had eased up on how often she sent him updates, and it wasn't so bad then. Peter figured that it was better than Tony flying over to scold him again, anyway.

Though, making Tony climb through the window again out of spite would be entertaining.


End file.
